Hard Situations

I saw this plant coming up out of my concrete sidewalk this week. The temperatures have been in the 90s F but this “weed” is growing, blooming and thriving in the hardest of situations. We must be more like weeds; tenacious, resilient, and strong in the hard times of our life!

Sometimes

We must grow and bloom

in hard situations

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

https://www.wildedible.com/wild-food-guide/wood-sorrel

Out of Compost …Life

Up from the compost comes new life

Some look forward to a long cold winter

I look forward to the flowers blooming in Spring

Daffodils can’t wait for winter’s cold to shine

In the midst of the rot and rubble they take root

Pushing upward with every warm day of Winter

Reminding me that it is not the losses of Summer

Nor the shedding of leaves in Autumn

But rather, hope lies in the eternal promise of Spring

As up from the compost comes new life

Pushing winter on its way

Yesterday I noticed that the daffodils were already pushing their way up through the dead leaves. Our temperatures have been above normal, so they have started to reach for the sun. It will be another month or two till we see blossoms, but to see them there reminds me that Spring is not that far away, and there is life and promise for 2022!  Hopefully we too can gather strength and new life from the compost of 2021!

Photo taken this morning: Dwight L. Roth

Persephone’s Marks

Trees tell their stories

written with green and red ink.

Leaves of history long forgotten…

as Persephone comes and goes,

get trampled under foot after each season.

But, her promised return

instills a flicker of hope in our hearts.

Each year a ring of life is added…

a library of tales from summers past

when growth was fat or lean…

only told by the rings inside.

Until they die, they remain unseen!!

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, Sarah asked us to write a poem from Greek Mythology that included some aspect of Persephone and her comings and goings to Hades in the underworld. The myth is that when she comes she brings spring and summer for six months, but when she goes, everything dies and remains so for six months. I thought trees are a great way to illustrate that by observing their rings.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com 

Nature’s Outie

Dried stretchmarks wrap around sawed-off knots

Straining against pregnant life swelling within

Nature’s outie / where life separated from life

Puckered up smirking at everyone who comes by

Covering scars of knots buried / healing over time

Creating a beauty all its own

enjoyed by all

***

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, Mish asked us to write a Quadrille of exactly 44 words using some form or the word knot. I saw these knots on the side of a tree when we were at the park a couple of weeks ago. I thought they were interesting, so I took a couple of photos of them.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com then click on Mr. Linkey to read more.

Bottom Leaf

In an everchanging world, I find myself struggling with the way in which things are moving! Life goes on whether I want to come along or not. As I watch the struggles of social groups and see the injustice that has long plagued our country’s history, I wonder where we are headed.  History like politics has very dark times. We can embrace it, be offended by it,  or attempt to deny it, but it will always be there.  As the next generation comes on, I hope they learn from history instead of repeating it.  I pray that we can all learn to live with each other, allowing for our differences in values and beliefs without feeling like we need to impose ours upon everyone around us. Uniqueness has always been our strength!

Sometimes I feel like the bottom leaf of a plant

Birthed from seed // providing sustenance for a time;

Now eclipsed by more recent growth rising above…

Providing new solar sources to feed from…

 

Obsolete // no longer making that much difference.

Never meant to shine or blossom // I’ve done my job…

Supporting // nurturing new growth and change;

 

Yet, now that life has grown beyond me,

I am here // drying up at the bottom of the stalk

while growth and reproduction of values and thought

happens above me // in a world very different from mine.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Shedding Our Bark

The Willow trees in our back yard were only saplings when we moved here nine years ago. They are extremely fast-growing trees which are now at least thirty feet tall. As I sat in their shade, I observed the wide splits in the bark. The old years growth sheds away as the tree expands. Eventually it falls away back into the soil. We are like trees. Those who grow the most continue to shed things they no longer need; negative attitudes, hurts, ideas, stereotypes, resentment, and bitterness, etc. Some are trapped in their own bark unwilling to let go and change for the better. How are you at shedding your bark?

Growth brings expansion
Stretching us //sometimes to our limit
Breaking us out of our comfort zone.
Growth causes cracks in our perception
Finding, perhaps there are other ways
Of thinking or feeling that may be different.
Growth brings change
Change is often painful
Forcing us to cast off old ways of thinking;
To have growth, we will have to change.
With change comes new strength;
New strength moves us beyond the present;
Fulfills our dreams for today…
Knowing tomorrow, we will again
Expand, stretch, and shed our bark.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

The Patience of a Seed

The patience of a seed lies in waiting
Knowing that at the opportune time
It will germinate, push out a root, and grow.
Too much sun will dry it up;
Too much rain will drown it // make it rot;
And, soil too hard will not let it take root;
Only when the combination of soil, light, and moisture
Is perfect will it grow and produce leaves and fruit.

*
Our life is much the same // waiting
For the opportune time to grow and shine.
The difficulty is always in the waiting;
Avoiding the scorching light of flattery and praise
Don’t get carried away by the storms of life
Take root in the rich soil of people who love you
Be patient // like a seed… humble and strong;
You’ll know when your time has come.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

The Edge of Inspiration

Beyond Imagination
I have been pushed and shoved all my life
Thanks to friends who cared…
Seeing more in me than I see in myself
Learning to do more than I could ever imagine
From computers to art // writing memoirs // and poetry
Publishing books on Amazon //and writing a blog…
Things I never imagined ten years ago
Susan // Kym // and Tom
Encouraging // urging // helping me
Opening doors to new worlds of wonder
Imagination that knows no end
Wonderful friends all over the world
Communicating with me every day
Keeping me on the edge of inspiration

Photo: Dwight L. Roth
I am reposting this one again after thinking through my writing process on yesterday’s post.  I am forever thankful for friends, who I mention in my poem, who have urged me to move into the world of writing. Without their encouragement, I would not be writing this blog.
It is such a wonderful thing to be able to learn to know all of you. Your great writing and words of encouragement, given to me in your comments, keep me coming back for more. I have learned so much form all of you at the d’Verse poetry group. I am now writing poetry that I never even heard of two years ago! Thank You All!!

 

Life’s Pattern

Our life’s a pattern of carefully laid stone

Each laid with care to show a place we owned

My life is built of corners hewn four-square

One layer on layer a box to grow to share

Young trees of green in soil dark find root

A life of sculpted stones well hewn bears fruit

 New bricks in pavement of carefully laid stone

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse Frank asked us to write a poem in Iambic Pentameter. This is new for me so here is my attempt.  Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Perpetual Motion

Cycles of life // ever changing

Water // seasons // life and death

Try as we may //no changes are made

Earth’s genetics determine its fate

A hiccup here // a burp there

New islands form // others wash away

The cycle goes on

****************************************

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Kim from d’Verse asked us to write a Quadrille (exactly 44 words) using the word cycle. There are many ways one could go with this, but I decided to write about cycles that seem to never change.  There are so many cycles that we and the earth go through it seems like perpetual motion to me.